In this Monday, Sept. 26, 2011 file photo, Dr. Adolfo Roitman presents a part of the Isaiah Scroll, one of the Dead Sea Scrolls, inside the vault of the Shrine of the Book building at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem. An Israeli antiquities official says Israel is embarking on a major expedition to find more Dead Sea Scrolls and other artifacts.(AP Photo/Sebastian Scheiner/Lefteris Pitarakis, File)

Israel is embarking on a major archaeological expedition. The country in the Middle East hopes to find more Dead Sea Scrolls, according to an Israeli official.

Amir Ganor of the Israel Antiquities Authority said a government research team will spend the next three years surveying hundreds of caves in the Judean Desert. The area is near the Dead Sea. That is the region where the Dead Sea Scrolls, the world's oldest biblical manuscripts, were preserved for thousands of years. They were discovered in 1947.

The collection is considered the crown jewel of Israeli antiquities.

In a move that is bound to stir controversy, the researchers may also excavate Dead Sea-area caves in the West Bank, Ganor said. Israel captured the West Bank in the 1967 Mideast War. The Palestinians want the territory to establish an independent state.

Ganor discussed details of the project with The Associated Press.

The expedition will begin in December. It will be funded by the Israeli prime minister's office, Ganor said.

The expedition will be the first large-scale archaeological survey of the area since Operation Scroll. That was an effort in 1993. The goal was to find any remaining Dead Sea Scrolls hidden in an area of the West Bank before Israel transferred partial control of the area to the Palestinian Authority. But no scrolls were found.

According to Ganor, archaeologists also hope to find other antiquities. They could date back to as early as 5,000 years ago. They also might date from the 1st-century Jewish-Roman war and the 2nd-century Bar Kochba revolt. The revolt occurred when Jewish fighters battling the Roman army sought refuge in the desert.

Last summer, Israel carried out a three-week excavation of the so-called Cave of the Skulls. The cave is in the Judean Desert. The Israelis excavated after catching a group of six Palestinian men digging illegally at the site in 2014. The Palestinians were believed to be digging for more Dead Sea Scrolls.

In recent years, ancient manuscripts have trickled onto the local antiquities market. Looters are believed to have plundered them from Dead Sea-area caves, prompting the government initiative.

"We know there are more," Ganor said, speaking of undiscovered Dead Sea Scrolls. "Most of the places haven't been reached."

I get that these people want to find the scrolls but i wouldn't go to these lengths. They are after all just pieces of paper. The only thing they can really do with them analyse them and then put them away.

gmatthew-dav

11/17/2016 - 10:44 p.m.

The article I read was: Israel searching for more Dead Sea scrolls. My opinion of the article is Searching for the dead sea scrolls is beneficial to learn about history. Here are my three supporting evidence

My first piece of evidence is a quote by Amor Ganor of the Israel Antiquities Authority "We know there are more," Ganor said, speaking of undiscovered Dead Sea Scrolls. "Most of the places haven't been reached." This explains that Israel has the motivation to look for the scrolls because they know they are there, and they want to learn more about their History.

My second piece of evidence is also a quote by Ganor it reads. "archaeologists also hope to find other antiquities. They could date back to as early as 5,000 years ago. They also might date from the 1st-century Jewish-Roman war and the 2nd-century Bar Kochba revolt. The revolt occurred when Jewish fighters battling the Roman army sought refuge in the desert".This supports my opinion that that it is important to learn history so even the archaeologists want to learn more about the history of Israel and find more important artifacts. My third and final piece of evidence is: "That is the region where the Dead Sea Scrolls, the world's oldest biblical manuscripts, were preserved for thousands of years. They were discovered in 1947.The collection is considered the crown jewel of Israeli antiquities".This piece of evidence also supports my opinion of the article is that it is good to learn about the history of the mankind and also why the scrolls are so important to the israelis.

In conclusion I think it is important to preserve and find the dead sea scrolls for the benefit of mankind.

samanthas-1-ste

11/18/2016 - 01:07 p.m.

They are digging because they are preserved underground. I have no idea that there were scrolls near the Dead Sea.

nathanm14-ste

11/18/2016 - 01:21 p.m.

I understand the want for lost history, but to go and rip caves apart across the desert for them. I feel like this could also cause problems with the Palestinians, seeing as how they want the land for their own independant state.

simonet1-lin

11/18/2016 - 02:29 p.m.

This article informed me about Dead Sea Scrolls. Almost my whole family lives in Israel, but I never knew that there was such thing as Dead Sea scrolls. I think that experts must dig to find scrolls because the scrolls have a lot of information from the past. The scrolls might date back from the 1st-century and the 2nd-century. I know that because i the story it said, " They could date back to as early as 5,000 years ago. They also might date from the 1st-century Jewish-Roman war and the 2nd-century Bar Kochba revolt."

katherineg-lin

11/18/2016 - 02:40 p.m.

I would be really scared if I had to do that! 3 days! Sheesh! In a cave too! I defiantly wouldn't go! But learning about the scrolls was really interesting! They are really brave to do that!

olivial-orv

11/19/2016 - 06:44 p.m.

I would love to be able to read those scrolls. Just imagine how much information you would find!

tiffanyh-ste

11/21/2016 - 11:55 a.m.

You could find a lot of information from the scrolls but I wouldn't have taken the searching this far. They aren't really good for anything anymore and most of the are probably all torn up so you couldn't put them in a museum.

jasonl1-lam

11/23/2016 - 02:26 p.m.

I find it very interesting that these people are searching for more scrolls. If someone didn't throw a rock in a cave and they heard class break and when they got there scrolls were there there wouldn't be a search.The chance that there is more scrolls makes it a good reason to explore caves